Chapter 20 #3
And yet, being ignored by Keane dún Scoti was by far a better fate than the one she might have had at William fitz Duncan’s hands.
She shuddered to think what William might have done to her by now.
And still… she found herself wishing Keane would only turn to look her way…
if only but once. She held an apology ready in her gaze, and prayed with all her heart that he might see it.
But he did not. And the mood of the party remained glum.
They made their way through pinewood forests and valleys that sliced through precipitous cliffs.
As they climbed the hills at last, the hillside forest thinned, and finally, the path wandered down a hillside, into a snow-blanketed valley that was bordered on three sides by corries and on the fourth by an icy loch.
As they entered the vale, the sound of a horn blast filled the air.
This, at last, was the legendary Dubhtolargg.
In the valley below, protected from the winds and encircled by bare-limbed rowan trees, sat row upon row of cobbled stone cottages topped with snow-covered thatch. Out on the loch sat an enormous wooden island, connected to the beach by a long wooden pier.
Hidden away like a precious gem, the sight of the tiny village stole Lianae’s breath away, for despite that it appeared as some visage from their past, a sense of something portentous assailed her the minute she entered the glen... something undeniably ancient and powerful.
From their vantage on the hillside, they could spy Keane’s kinsmen down below near a raging bonfire. From its center, smoke curled upward into a bleak sky. Long before they neared the village, a welcome party came forth to greet them.
With nervous fingers tapping at the inside of her belly, Lianae followed her husband to the stables, where they abandoned their mounts and then made their way toward the bonfire on the beach.
Hugs were exchanged along the way, and more tears shed, but Lianae was not among the ones embraced.
Her heart aching for these people, she bided her time, standing near her husband like a good and dutiful wife.
Presently, a young woman came to embrace Keane—a beautiful girl, with bright red hair. The two hugged, embracing as though the world was coming to its end.
Jealousy reared its little beast eyes, and Lianae glanced away, unable to bear the sight of their embrace. Remembering how Keane had taken her wounded feet and wrapped them with so much care, she swallowed over the loss of his affections.
What had she done?
Saved herself, in truth, but she’d made her husband cold. A sorrow to match her husband’s grief seeped down into Lianae’s bones.
After a moment, the woman broke free of their embrace and folded herself into Cameron’s arms as well, and seeing the two together, Lianae was at once reassured.
If the girl’s hug for Keane was fervent and heartfelt, her embrace for Cameron was tender and full of longing. Lianae noted the fingers that looped through the curls at Cameron’s nape, and at once she sought her husband’s gaze.
Clearly, Keane noted the gesture as well, for he turned to look at Lianae at long last, and gave her a tentative smile—the first such smile in weeks. Her heart did a painful flip inside her breast.
Judging by the look upon her husband’s face as he watched Cameron with his sister, Lianae dared to hope that he, too, craved more than the fief he would receive as payment from his king.
And then there was this: Any other man might have taken the king’s bribe, and in order to secure the alliance between their houses, he would have forced Lianae to lie with him by now.
Keane had yet to even touch her… and even now, if she chose to, she could declare herself unwed, for she was a maiden still in the eyes of the law.
But she wanted to be Keane’s wife in truth.
Alas, he thought her defiled, and worse, he suspected she carried another man’s bairn. Another lie—the greatest lie of all—one Lianae longed to bring into the light.
He stood so close now—so very close—and yet they might as well have been standing leagues apart. Longing for the merest brush of his skin, Lianae moved closer, and once the initial greetings were done, her husband drew the woman aside, introducing her to Lianae.
“Cailin, greet my wife,” he said without flourish.
The girl’s eyes widened. Her gaze snapped to Lianae. “Wife?”
Belatedly, he took Lianae by the hand, but the gesture seemed perfunctory.
“Lianae, this is my sister Cailin. She will see to your comfort and I will join you anon.” He bent to place a chaste kiss upon Lianae’s forehead and she pressed her face into the warmth of his lips, but he broke free and moved away, abandoning her to his sister.
Cameron was quick to follow at his heels.
“Where are you going?” Cailin called after them. When Keane didn’t reply, she turned to give Lianae a strange look.
“David comes,” Lael said, and bolted after them.
Cailin opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again and merely watched her brother and sister take their leave, seeming to comprehend something Lianae did not. Though she had the immediate sense that whatever it was… it had everything to do with David’s imminent arrival in the vale.